A £50 million power bill saving is to be brought to northern Scotland through the Hydro Benefit Replacement Scheme, the government has announced.

Energy and climate change secretary Edward Davey called for comments on the issue of electricity distribution costs in the region on Friday (March 1^st) and outlined plans to retain the scheme.

Speaking in Aberdeen, the minister claimed the programme is another example of how Scotland benefits from being part of the UK.

“With the size of the Great Britain consumer base we are able to spread the cost of protecting consumers in the North of Scotland,” he said.

“I believe wholeheartedly that Scotland is stronger as part of the UK, and that the UK is stronger with Scotland in it.”

The scheme will equate to an average bill saving of £31 a year to nearly 700.000 domestic consumers in northern Scotland and 70,000 non-domestic consumers are also set to benefit.

UK energy minister John Hayes explained that the scheme “cushions” the region from being subjected to the full cost of distributing power over such a sparsley-populated area.

“It shows that as one nation with a shared energy market, the British are stronger together,” he added.

The announcement marked the start of Mr Davey’s visit to Aberdeen, in which he will visit the city’s council to discuss energy efficiency, as well as meeting European commissioner Gunther Oettinger.

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Local government secretary Eric Pickles has advised local authorities on how to cut spending by reviewing taxpayer funding of trade unions.

He claimed that councils should be managing their workforce costs in order to achieve value for money and suggested ‘facility time’ agreements with trade unions should not be exempt from this.

Pickles conceded that such organisations continue to have an “important and constructive role” in the workplace but added that the public sector has provided taxpayer funding that is “inadequately controlled” and provides poor value for money.

“Reducing such public subsidies to trade unions is a practical way that councils can save money, to keep council tax down and protect frontline services for local residents – including union members themselves,” he said.

The minister went on to suggest that trade union activities should use member subscriptions as a source of funding and not rely on contributions from the taxpayer.

“Freedom from state dependency will also mean that trade union bosses will better reflect and respond to the wishes and views of the grassroots members who pay the bill,” he added.

The advice suggested that councils should enhance transparency on the amount of facility time offered to trade unions and should “significantly” scale back such activities in the workplace.

It also advocated placing restrictions on the use of office facilities for union representatives and leaving staff who take time off for trade union activities unpaid.

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Unemployment in the euro area hit 11.9 per cent in January 2013, Eurostat has revealed today (March 1^st).

This marks a rise of 0.1 per cent from December 2012 and comes alongside a similar rise among European Union (EU) member states.

The figures show a significant year-on-year rise in unemployment and Eurostat estimates that more than 26 million men and women in the EU are now unemployed.

Among EU member states, the highest unemployment rates were recorded in Spain, Portugal and Greece, which hit 27 per cent as of November 2012.

However, several significant decreases also took place – with unemployment falling to 9.9 per cent in Estonia, 14.4 per cent in Latvia and 6.6 per cent in Romania.

The UK also saw a drop in the number of people out of work – falling from 8.3 per cent to 7.7 per cent between November 2011 and November 2012.

Youth unemployment continues to dog the EU, with nearly six million under-25s out of work in the EU27 in January this year.

The figures stand as a stark contrast to the rates recorded in the USA and Japan during this period, which stood at 7.9 and 4.2 per cent, respectively.

Image used courtesy of Rob Wilson / Shutterstock.com.

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Undercover policing in the UK requires a “root and branch” overhaul, MPs have warned today (March 1^st).

The Home Affairs Committee has called for a fundamental review of the regulations governing operations by undercover police in its interim report on the matter.

According to the document, an “unsatisfactory degree of ambiguity” currently surrounds the legal framework administrating such programmes and fails to provide sufficient protection to individuals affected during the course of investigations.

Committee chair Keith Vaz MP claimed the group was unhappy with current legislation on undercover police operations.

“The impact of the conduct of undercover officers on the women with whom they had relationships has been devastating, and it represents a wholly improper degree of intrusion by the state into the lives of individuals,” he said.

Mr Vaz went on to brand the practice of undercover officers using the identities of dead infants as cover stories as “ghoulish and disrespectful”.

“We heard of one case where a bereaved family might have come face-to-face with a woman who believed that their dead child was her former partner,” he added.

The Committee went on to criticise Operation Herne, which has been investigating the administration of these operations, noting that despite accruing more than £1 million in costs, no arrests have yet been made.

In 2011, a number of allegations on the conduct of undercover police officers came to light, with several standing accused of engaging in long-term relationships with members of the groups they had infiltrated.

During the course of one investigation, an officer reportedly fathered a child before disappearing.

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Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has revealed it suffered a pre-tax loss of more than £5 billion in 2012.

In a year that group chief executive Stephen Hester described as “chastening” the bank was hit by a series of charges, with much of the deficit coming from a £4.6 billion accounting charge for alterations to the value of RBS’ own credit.

Similarly, the institution had to face a £460 million charge in relation to the PPI mis-selling scandal and a further £700 million charge for money earmarked for covering payouts in regard to the mis-selling of interest rate swap products.

Mr Hester claimed that RBS had made “good progress” and 2013 would be the last big year for restructuring.

“We are determined to overcome the cultural and reputational baggage of pre-crisis times with the same focus we have applied to the financial clean-up from that era,” he said.

However, in a conference call with journalists, Mr Hester conceded that the bank faced another “choppy year” in 2013, but expressed optimism for its prospects.

“The light at the end of the tunnel is coming much closer,” he added.

The latest hit marks RBS’ fifth annual loss since it was bailed out by the taxpayer in 2008 and shares in the financier dropped to three per cent in early trading this morning (February 28^th).

Image used courtesy of Tupungato / Shutterstock.com

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Nick Clegg has admitted recent claims regarding sexually inappropriate behaviour contributed to the resignation of former Liberal Democrat chief executive Lord Rennard.

During his weekly phone-in show on LBC Radio this morning (February 27^th), the deputy prime minister was quizzed over the issue by Channel 4 news presenter Cathy Newman.

She asked him to clarify the reasons behind the peer’s resignation, noting that he had appeared to accept the fact that claims over his behaviour had influenced the decision to step down.

“He left on health grounds but of course the issues of his inappropriate behaviour were in the background of course they were,” Clegg said.

Earlier in the show, the Liberal Democrat leader conceded that the women behind the allegations had been let down by the party, which had made some “very serious mistakes”.

“I so much believe that it is crucial that you treat people with respect and dignity in everything you do – and that is what I expect of people in the organisation I lead,” he said “That, clearly, did not happen here, to put it mildly.”

Clegg claimed that he had only been made aware of specific allegations last week, when they were broadcast in a Channel 4 documentary.

However, he did note that the issue had been raised “in general terms” by Sandra Gidley, former Lib Dem MP for Romsey, in 2007.

The recent Channel 4 documentary brought several allegations of inappropriate sexual behaviour by Lord Rennard to light, however the peer continues to deny the claims.

“In 27 years of working for the Liberal Democrats he received no complaint or allegation about his behaviour,” said a statement issued on his behalf.

Video and image used courtesy of LBC.

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Shoppers in the UK want to see more British foods in supermarkets and served in restaurants.

This is according to a survey from agricultural union NFU, which found that 86 per cent of consumers are more likely to buy traceable food that is produced on British farms.

Similarly, 78 per cent agreed that supermarkets should stock more food produced within the UK.

NFU president Peter Kendall claimed a shorter and more accountable supply chain would help to alleviate some of the problems with meat traceability in the wake of the horsemeat scandal.

“Farmers have been furious about what has happened,” he said. “They have spent many years working to ensure the British supply chain is fully traceable from farm to pack and building strong principles,” he said.

Mr Kendall went on to express a desire to see greater transparency from food retailers and criticised the industry for short-term thinking.

“The margin distribution in the supply chain needs more transparency and joined-up thinking to tackle the dual challenges of volatility and environmental pressures,” he added.

According to the union, consumers should be more demanding in terms of querying the source of their food and retailers need to do more to make labelling clearer.

The statistics come in the wake of the meat contamination scandal, in which the presence of horsemeat was detected in beef products sold by high-profile supermarkets, including Tesco, Lidl, Aldi and Iceland.

Image used courtesy of Wikimages on Pixabay.

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Evidence from the BBC’s inquiry into Newsnight’s decision to drop its investigation into Jimmy Savile is set to be published online today (February 22^nd).

Thousands of pages of transcripts from the review are to be made available on the web and will include interviews with BBC journalists and bosses, in addition to a host of emails and texts.

The review was implemented by the corporation last year and set out to find whether management failings prompted the decision to call off the six-week investigation into claims of paedophilia against Savile in December 2011.

A separate Newsnight investigation set up last summer led to Lord McAlpine being wrongly accused of child abuse. A decision to broadcast the programme without consulting the Conservative peer led to further criticism of the BBC and the resignation of director-general George Entwistle.

Last year’s Pollard Review branded the decisions made by the BBC as “seriously flawed” although it rejected claims that the Savile investigation had been cancelled in order to protect planned tribute shows for the DJ.

The report’s findings led to a raft of staff changes at the corporation and BBC Trust chairman Lord Patten pledged that evidence would be published, subject to legal redactions.

Despite not finding evidence of a cover-up at the corporation, the report slammed BBC bosses – claiming leadership had been in “short supply” during the crisis.

“Newsnight’s abortive Jimmy Savile inquiry of 2011 started a chain of events that was to prove disastrous for the BBC. It led to one of the worst management crises in the BBC’s history and contributed to further chaos that led to the resignation of the director general a few weeks later over the McAlpine affair,” said the document.

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Private companies are better than the public sector at running prisons, a think tank has claimed.

A report published today (February 21^st) by Reform suggests that private facilities outperform state-run institutions across the board.

In an analysis of Ministry of Justice data, the group claimed that private prisons excel at resource management, operational effectiveness and decency.

Will Tanner, author of the report, suggested that privately-run institutions tend to outperform their public sector counterparts in reducing re-offending rates – a key government objective.

“Private contractors outperform comparable public sector prisons on both cost and quality, delivering better value for money for the taxpayer,” he said.

However, justice minister Jeremy Wright described Reform’s analysis as simplistic and claimed it did not tell the entire story.

“A wide range of factors contribute to reoffending including previous criminal behaviour, drug and alcohol dependency and the support offenders receive on release from prison,” he said.

Mr Wright went on to reassert the government’s commitment to introducing “significant reforms” that aim to tackle the UK’s “stubbornly high” reoffending rates.

Similar comments were issued by Juliet Lyon, director of the Prison Reform Trust, who suggested that Reform had been selective in its use of data and private facilities actually experienced mixed results.

“Some private prisons have proved innovative and effective but others have been criticised by the Chief Inspector for their high staff turnover, tendency to cut corners and weaknesses in security,” she said.

Image courtesy of spirit of america / Shutterstock.com.

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The jury trying Vicky Pryce, the ex-wife of former minister Chris Huhne, has been discharged after failing to reach a verdict on its fourth day of deliberations.

Presiding judge Mr Justice Sweeny dismissed the jurors after being passed a note that claimed it was “highly unlikely” that they could unanimously agree on whether Pryce was guilty of perverting the course of justice.

Her prosecution began after it came to light that former Liberal Democrat cabinet member Chris Huhne had falsely claimed his wife was responsible for a speeding offence from 2003.

Despite admitting to taking the penalty points on behalf of her husband, Ms Pryce pleaded not guilty to the charge – suggesting she had been coerced into this course of action.

Earlier in the day, the jury had sent a list of 10 questions to Mr Justice Sweeney, which indicated opposing views on whether or not she had been pressured into taking the blame for the speeding offence.

“Against the background of the length of time that you have been in retirement already, I have decided therefore, and it is my decision one way or the other, that I must discharge you from any further deliberations,” he said.

In March 2003, Chris Huhne’s car was caught by a speed camera on the M11 motorway and it is claimed that Ms Pryce lied to police about driving the vehicle so that her then-husband could avoid a driving ban.

Earlier in the month, Chris Huhne pleaded guilty to perverting the course of justice over the issue and stepped down as representative for Eastleigh in Hampshire. He changed his plea to guilty on the first day of his trial at Southwark Crown Court and could face jail as a result of the offence.

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